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A58
sports
Guardian www.guardian.co.tt Monday, March 17, 2014
THE WEST INDIES
GAYLESTORM: In opener Chris
Gayle, the defending champion
West Indies has the most
proficient match-winner in the T20
format. Gayle is capable of
snatching a game away from any
opposition and can be instrumental
in building a strong target. Gayle
smashed a decisive 75 in the 2012
semifinal against Australia, and has
plenty of records in T20. He has a
record 11 T20 centuries with a top
score of 175 off just 66 deliveries in
India's domestic T20 tournament.
BORN AGAIN BOWLER: A
change in bowling action has
turned Sunil Narine into a
dangerous prospect in Twenty20
cricket. The offspinner had played
no domestic limited-overs cricket
when he was first picked for the
Champions League T20
tournament by Trinidad and
Tobago. He was soon referred to
bio-mechanical experts in Australia
due to a suspect bowling action,
and some small tweaks made the
world of difference. Narine went
from there to earn a place in the
West Indies squad and then
became a prized T20 player in
professional leagues, including in
India. He can prove brutally
effective with support from
legspinner Samuel Badri.
T20 SPECIALISTS: West Indies
captain Darren Sammy says the
demand for Caribbean players in
international professional leagues
makes his team a top contender to
progress to the knockout stages,
even from a difficult group
containing India, Pakistan and
Australia. There are a dozen West
Indies players featuring in the
Indian Premier League, including
some of the competition's biggest
stars. As Sammy says, "Gayle,
Bravo, Narine are all marquee
players."
FOOTBALL FOLLY: The West
Indies can blame football for the
absence of one its star cricketers
at the World T20. Big-hitting
allrounder Kieron Pollard, who had
smashed 38 off only 15 deliveries
in the 2012 World T20 semifinal
against Australia, is the only top
star missing from the squad after
he injured his knee while playing in
a charity football match. Captain
Sammy says Pollard will be sorely
missed.
ALL SQUARE : The reigning
World T20 champion West Indies
has an almost 50-50 record
cricket's shortest format with 25
wins and 27 losses from 56 games,
with two ties and one no-result. In
the World T20s it has won nine
and lost nine from 20 games with
one tie and one no-result. It had
mixed fortunes at the previous
tournament, losing to Australia and
Sri Lanka, one no-result against
Ireland and a tied game against
New Zealand. It was lucky to make
the knockout stages, but lifted for
the big matches to beat Australia
by 74 runs in the semifinal and Sri
Lanka by 36 runs in the final.
AUSTRALIA
CAN WE DO IT? YES WE CAN!
--- Allrounder Shane Watson says
Australia has the depth and
balance it needs to win the World
T20 title for the first time.
"This is the best squad we've
ever assembled in Twenty20
cricket," said Watson, who has
contested four previous world T20
events. "We've got the most
balanced side I've ever been
involved in. We have firepower in
our batting, all the way down to
No.10. We've got high-quality
opening bowlers, death bowlers
and spinners. We have versatility.
In all conditions, against any
opposition we can match up really
well."
WITH YOU IN SPIRIT --- Test
captain Michael Clarke won't be at
the World T20, but believes the
squad selected will take
momentum from Australia's
victories in recent test series
against England and South Africa.
"I think the confidence the test
players will take out of the (South
African) series and bring into the
Twenty20 team will certainly help,"
Clarke said. "So I'm backing the
boys. I'm really confident they'll
win the Twenty20 world cup."
THINKING BIG --- Australia T20
captain George Bailey is one of
cricket's renaissance men ---
proficient in all forms of the game.
As such, he is able to judge how
the skills of one form transfer to
another and he says T20 cricket
demands an instinctive approach.
"If you play a lot of Twenty20
cricket there can be a tendency to
fall into habits that are potentially
risky in test cricket," Bailey said.
"Even if I go into a match saying to
myself 'don't play that shot," I'm
still thinking about playing that
shot. It's the same idea as saying
'don't think of an elephant.' I'm
thinking of the elephant." He has
guided Australia to recent T20
series wins over England and
South Africa.
HOGGING THE LIMELIGHT --- At
43, Brad Hogg had every reason to
believe his international cricket
career was over. But a big season
in the domestic T20 league
catapulted him into the Australian
team and he's determined to take
his late chance with both hands.
"It's great," Hogg said. "I thought
the (2012) T20 was going to be my
last. It just really emphasizes that
saying that you have to play every
game as if it was going to be your
last. If you do that you're going to
have success and that's what I've
been doing for the last three
years."
STARC REMINDER --- Most
experts agree spin bowling and
aggressive batting will be the keys
to winning the title. Australian fast
bowler Mitchell Starc has taken 17
wickets in T20 internationals at an
average of 17.47 and he says
aggressive fast bowling is a key
component for any side. "It's not
just about bringing about dot
balls," Starc said. "Wicket balls are
dot balls as well, and usually
followed by a few more dot balls.
I've always tried to be a very
attacking bowler." Australia had a
setback Sunday when paceman
Mitchell Johnson was ruled out
with a toe infection, and replaced
by Doug Bollinger.
Champs all set to repeat
WHO'S WHO IN THE RACE TO THE ICC T20 WORLD CUP
T he eyes of the sporting world will be firmly fixed on the ICC T20 World
Cup which bowled off with some group matches yesterday in Bangladesh.
The action swings into full gear on Friday with the official big guns tak-
ing the field. Today we look at five of the teams in the tournament. We will report
on England, New Zealand and India in tomorrow s Guardian.
Australia's batsman Shane Watson...believes Australia has depth
West Indies' Chris Gayle......most proficient match-winner in the T20 format
Continued on Page A59